


Tumbling Down

by Morpheus626



Category: Queen (Band)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-14
Packaged: 2021-03-14 09:53:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29416674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Morpheus626/pseuds/Morpheus626
Summary: I’m not as thrilled with this as I could be, but it also could be worse. And I wrote it today during the writing marathon, and I really needed to publish Something from it in order to not feel utterly useless.So please have Queen, a break up (not of the band, but one of them dealing with a break up personally lol), and the Bolton Strid, in this little ficlet thing. Set in a Modern AU.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	Tumbling Down

"Once it's in there, it's gone forever," Brian warned. "The Strid doesn't give up anything that falls into it."

"Human or jewelry, so you can't fall into it," Roger said. "I'll keep a hold on you, as will John-"

John nodded as he kicked a rock into the Strid, and watched it disappear. 

"-and hopefully the only thing the Strid eats will be that necklace," Roger concluded. 

"Don't even like necklaces," Freddie grumbled. "Should have been a sign right then he wasn't right for me." 

"Maybe so, but you're going to wash that all away with this," Brian said. "The necklace will go, and so will all the bad memories of him with it."

"Wish I could throw him in here instead," Freddie muttered. 

"Yeah, well, that's murder," John sighed. "Makes me nervous, being this close. Let's get this over with before one of us falls in."

“That’s the spirit,” Brian said half-heartedly. “Shame we can’t track it somehow, fix a camera to it. I know it’d be destroyed, but if it wasn’t...who knows what we might see?” 

“Do you have something you’d like to try and attach to it that you don’t mind losing?” Freddie asked, and held the necklace out to Brian. “If you can figure out how to attach something to this."

“I do have one extra of those cameras I got in Japan,” Brian fussed with his coat pocket, and held out an incredibly tiny camera, covered in a clear protective case. “I was saving him for a rainy day, but-” 

“It’s raining now,” John noted. “Pissing down, fucking freezing.” 

“You’re having the best time, aren’t you?” Roger grinned. 

“I will have an even better time back at the bed and breakfast, in my bed, with a cup of tea and something warm to eat,” John replied sharply. “These rocks are slippery, attach the damned thing and throw it in already.” 

“Alright, alright,” Brian sighed. “And here Freddie’s supposed to be the one in a bad mood; he’s the one who has a right to be!” 

“There’s other fish in the sea,” John grumbled. “Probably in here too.” 

Freddie shot John a look, but sighed and smiled. “Yes, but I don’t want to date any of those fish. Thank you for the suggestion though. And he’s right, we should hurry this up, probably. Before the weather gets worse at least.” 

“I have twine, which isn’t ideal,” Brian started.

“What about this is, exactly?” John interjected.

“Not your attitude,” Freddie muttered. “We’ll be done soon, alright? Have some patience.” 

“Cranky little baby, is what he is,” Roger teased. “I’ll get you a bottle when we get back, but if you don’t play nice out here then it’s straight to bed.” 

“I swear to God I will push you in,” John spat. 

“You’d miss me too much,” Roger stuck out his tongue, and wiped rain off his face as he watched Freddie and Brian fumble to attach the camera with the twine to the thin silver necklace. 

“How do you track that?” Freddie asked as he held out the necklace, shaking it to ensure the camera was on as tightly as possible. “A website or something?” 

Brian nodded. “There’s an app on my phone for it, I can see what it films in real time.” 

“So if we look at that app now, we’ll see the disintegration of John’s mood?” Roger asked. “Since it’s filming now?” 

“Yeah,” Brian giggled, waving away the scoff John let out. “Calm yourself, Deaky. We’re nearly done here.” 

“Yes,” Freddie sighed, staring at the necklace, then looking at the Strid. “Here’s to telling Marcus to fuck directly off out of my life for buying me something I didn’t even like.” 

“That and the cheating on you, when you both agreed this was not to be an open relationship,” Roger noted. “Arguably the bigger and worse thing.” 

“Yeah, but this is an ugly fucking necklace too,” Freddie replied. “Good riddance to bad fucking rubbish.” 

They dipped in close to Brian as he opened the app and Freddie tossed the necklace into the Strid. The images were chaotic, rushing water, dark and deep and-

“What in the fuck was that?” John gasped and stepped away, trainers slipping on the wet moss and rocks. 

“Fucking hell!” Roger spat, snagging John’s arm as his leg dropped into the water. “All this talk about falling the fuck in has jinxed us; we need to go.” 

Freddie helped him drag John back off the rocks, and turned to Brian. “Bri?” 

Brian was pale, leaned over the Strid, staring into the depths. “I don’t know what that was. I don’t even know how something like it could be in a river. How on earth would it survive? It looked like-” 

“I know,” Freddie interrupted. “We’re going, come on. Carefully, please.” 

They stumbled, wet and cold and unsettled, away from the Strid. It was a decent walk back to their rental car (that they most certainly going to get charged extra for when they returned it with the interior soaked.) 

On Brian’s still running app, the glint of the silver necklace disappeared into a flash of white teeth, and the camera view went completely dark.


End file.
